Upanishads · Kaṭharudra 42
॥
Devanāgarī
एवं यो वेद तत्त्वेन ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते । सर्ववेदान्तसिद्धान्तसारं वच्मि यथार्थतः
Transliteration (IAST)
evaṃ yo veda tattvena brahmabhūyāya kalpate | sarvavedāntasiddhāntasāraṃ vacmi yathārthataḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
एवं यः वेद तत्त्वेनevaṃ yaḥ veda tattvenathus whoever knows in truth
ब्रह्म-भूयाय कल्पतेbrahma-bhūyāya kalpatebecomes fit for the state of Brahman
सर्व-वेदान्त-सिद्धान्त-सारंsarva-vedānta-siddhānta-sāraṃthe essence of the conclusion of the whole Vedānta
वच्मि यथार्थतःvacmi yathārthataḥI speak in accordance with the truth
Translation
Thus whoever knows in truth becomes fit for the state of Brahman. The essence of the conclusion of the whole Vedānta I speak in accordance with the truth.
Version
51545b3041ad · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The verse promises brahma-bhūyāya kalpate, "becomes fit for the state of Brahman," and the word chosen here is more cautious than usual. Kalpate means "turns out fit, is suited, adapts"; it is not "attains" and not "becomes." That is, a person is brought into a state in which he is fit for something; and fitness is not yet possession.
The phrase brahma-bhūya is found in the Gītā too, and there it is explained with a precision not found in these books. It is said: "having become Brahman, of enlightened spirit, one neither grieves nor desires, equal to all beings, and attains supreme service to Me" (18.54). That is, brahma-bhūta there is not the limit, but the threshold: the place from which service begins.
This distinction is the chief one between the two teachings. For one, "becoming Brahman" is the end of the path; for the other, it is the state in which a person finally becomes capable of loving, because he has stopped fearing and demanding. The second half of the verse is curious and touching in its own way: sarva-vedānta-siddhānta-sāraṃ vacmi yathārthataḥ, "the essence of the conclusion of the whole Vedānta I speak in accordance with the truth."
The author declares that he will now say the main thing, in two words. Such promises are made rarely and deserve catching: here a person names, himself, what he considers most important. The next line — the last in the book — is precisely this promised thing.